Impatiens hawkeri cultivar Balcelneon.
The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of New Guinea Impatiens plant, botanically known as Impatiens hawkeri, and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Balcelneonxe2x80x99.
The new Impatiens is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Arroyo Grande, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to develop New Guinea Impatiens cultivars that have a freely branching growth habit and large flowers with attractive flower colors.
The new Impatiens originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in 1998 of the Impatiens hawkeri cultivar Toga, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,304, as the female, or seed parent, with the Impatiens hawkeri cultivar BFP-605 Orange, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,078, as the male, or pollen parent. The cultivar Balcelneon was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Arroyo Grande, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in Arroyo Grande, Calif. since March, 1998, has shown that the unique features of this new Impatiens are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Balcelneonxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Balcelneonxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Impatiens cultivar:
1. Upright, rounded and uniform plant habit.
2. Red purple-colored flowers with a light pink-colored eye that are positioned above and beyond the leaves.
3. Dark green-colored leaves.
Plants of the new Impatiens differ primarily from plants of the female and male parents in flower color.
Plants of the new Impatiens can be compared to plants of the cultivar BFP-844, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,415. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in West Chicago, Ill., plants of the new Impatiens differed from plants of the cultivar BFP-844 in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Impatiens were taller and more vigorous than plants of the cultivar BFP-844.
2. Plants of the new Impatiens had longer lateral branches and shorter internodes than plants of the cultivar BFP-844.
3. Plants of the new Impatiens had larger flowers than plants of the cultivar BFP-844.
4. Plants of the new Impatiens and the cultivar BFP-844 differed in flower color.